Fire extinguisher



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W. H. HEATON FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed Aug. 18. 1924 Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

'WILLIAISEII H. HEATON, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

Application filed August 18, 1924. Serial No. 732,711.

My invention relates to portable fire extinguishers, and has for its primary object to provide means whereby a quantity of water under pressure may be carried to or maintained at remote locations for fire extinguishing purposes, and used to extinguish grass and such other open fires that the ordinary chemical extinguishers cannot cope with, and where the customary fire apparatus cannot be used on account of inaccessibility or of being too remote from a :Jater supply.

A further object of a great importance is the collapsible feature of my invention, which enables a great many of these bags to be stored under seats and other places in fire apparatus, and used at such times and at such fires where advisable, in place of the expensive hand chemical extinguishers that are inefficient in open fires because of the vast volume of surrounding oxygenladen air.

The salient features of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawing, which has been selected for the purpose of illustrating the preferred construction of the device.

In said drawing, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, and with portions broken away, of one form of the water-containing bag that I intend to use; and Fig. 2 is a similar view, but with the bag inclosed within its outer protective casing.

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of a' modified form of bag with a portion broken away; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view in section of the material from which I desire to construct the bag shown in Fig. 3.

In every instance regardless of detail structure, I will employ a collapsible bag adapted to contain a convenient quantity of water and provided with equipment for producing a pressure of air above the water, and with a valved outlet at the bottom of the bag, and with means to carry the bag to leave the hands free to manipulate the nozzle of the hose.

Referring now to the drawing in detail and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the bag 5 shown in these figures is produced from rubber sheeting and molded or otherwise suitably formed for the purpose, and is adapted to be enveloped by a fabric outer casing 6.

The casing has a laced open end 7 for resuch articles where an inner air container of rubber is inclosed in an outer casing.

The bag may be made with a funnel-like filling mouth 8, with a threaded plug closure 9. The casing 6 is of course made with an opening for the said mouth, so that the bag may be both filled with water and pumped with air without removing it from the casing. The bottom of the casing also has an opening through which the valved connection 10 for the nozzled hose 11 ex tends.

As a convenient way of carrying the bag the casing 6 is equipped with shoulder straps or harness 12, which also includes a waist-encircling band 13. This will enable the bag to be carried upon ones back so as to leave both hands free to operate the valve in the connection 10 and play the hose over the fire.

The air pressure is introduced above the water by an ordinary air or tire pump, through the common tire valve 14 extending through the plug 9. The stem of the valve includes the button 15 at one end and the same is drawn up against the bottom of the plug by a washered nut 16 to form an airtight connection. 17 is the customary valve cap in the assembly.

To fill the bag, the water is put in to the level A, and which level is determined by holding the hose in a vertical position with the valve in the connection 10 open. hen the water begins to run out of the upturned nozzle, the desired'level in the bag has been reached, and the valve is then closed and the hose dropped. Plug 9 is then screwed to scaling position, and air introduced into the space above the water through the tire valve 14 until the desired head of pressure is reached.

The identical principle is carried out in the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, only in this modification the bag is lined with rubber 5, and the covering 6 of Woven fabric is incorporated as a part of the lining as by vulcanization in the manner of rubberlined cotton fire hose.

These devices may also. be used by fire brigades; one man may fill the bags with water and air, and another pack one upon his back and carry one in each hand from a filling station to the fire, and use them one after the other.

The invention thus described will furnish a collapsible, portable,; light and inexpensive fire extinguisher, in which water is stored under a head of air so that it may be forced through the hose and used to good advantage in extinguishing a fire, where chemical extinguishers are not only. not available, but are as wellimsuitable and inadequate at. fires of the type my invention is designed to cope with.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

A fire extinguisher comprising a means for filling the bag with Water to a predetermined level including a funnel se cured to the top wall of said bag and opening intothe interior thereof, the neck of the funnel being provided with interior threads, an externally threaded closure plug removably engaged in said threaded neck, means for introducing a head of air above the water level in said bag consisting of a valved air stem secured in and passing through said plug and a valve controlled hose of predetermined length in the bottom of the bag for determining the said water level and for discharging the water from the bag under pressure, the said bag being provided with'a packing harness for carrying the extinguisher.

In'testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

\VILLIAM H. HEATON. 

